Departments: Energy

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what  (a) instructions are issued to staff in his Department and  (b) technical procedures are in place to shut down computers at night.

Gillian Merron: The Department for Transport (Central) and its agencies are very conscious of the need to reduce power, thereby contributing to a common target to reduce carbon emissions by 12.5 per cent. by 2010-11. All therefore have policies of shutting down computers at night, and staff are regularly instructed to so by means such as induction training, circulars, general guidance, notices and night security checks. In addition, departmental procurement policy states that preference should be given to energy efficient IT equipment.
	Technical procedures are not used at the moment, although DfT (Central) is examining the possibilities for this, commencing in mid-June, with an automatic shutdown of computers inadvertently left powered on at close of business each Friday.

Roads: Safety

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to tackle the road safety hazard posed by the theft of drain covers from highways.

Gillian Merron: The Department endorses "Well maintained Highways" the code of practice on highway management published by the UK Roads Liaison Group. The code provides guidance on safety inspections and those defects to be inspected which includes ironwork broken or missing.
	The Highways Agency is responsible for the maintenance of the strategic road network. Their routine and winter service code specifies that a missing drain cover requires an immediate and temporary repair and a permanent repair within 28 days. Safety inspections are carried out every 24 hours on most motorways and every seven days on heavily trafficked all purpose trunk roads and on a 28 day cycle on all other trunk roads.

Pay Television: Competition

Lynda Waltho: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he has taken to promote competition in the pay television market.

Ian McCartney: The matter raised is the responsibility of the independent regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom), which is accountable to Parliament rather than Ministers. Accordingly, I have asked the Chief Executive of Ofcom to reply directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the Chief Executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Security Objectives

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development What his policy is on the appropriateness of his Department contributing to security objectives overseas.

Gareth Thomas: Security and development are linked. Poverty, under-development, weak and ineffective government all help to provide fertile conditions for conflict, criminality and, in some circumstances, terrorism, which is why DFID country programmes all promote the security of the poor and in doing so, help to address the root causes of insecurity locally, nationally and internationally.

Water Supplies

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development If he will make a statement on his Department's efforts to promote clean water and sanitation in the developing world.

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to promote clean water and sanitation in the developing world; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: We will double our expenditure on water and sanitation in Africa—where the Millennium Development Goal targets are most off-track—to £95 million a year by 2007-08, and then double it again to £200 million a year by 2010-11.
	Last November, I published a global call to action on water and sanitation. We need both developing country Governments and donors to do more, we need to invest more and to ensure this money is spent effectively, and we need to put the best structures in place to make all of this happen.

Darfur

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in Darfur.

Hilary Benn: Four million people in Darfur are in need of assistance including two million who have been displaced by violence. Displacements continue at an alarming rate of 30,000 a month.
	Recent assessments report malnutrition just below emergency threshold and fairly stable mortality figures. However this success is dependent on the provision of on going humanitarian assistance which continues to be under threat both from insecurity and from bureaucratic impediments imposed by the Government of Sudan. Aid deliveries remains suspended or severely curtailed in many areas of Darfur leaving many without access to critical humanitarian assistance.

Somalia

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in Somalia.

Hilary Benn: The UN has declared Somalia one of the most serious humanitarian crises in the world. Killings, woundings, displacement, destruction of homes, and theft of property, especially due to the conflict in Mogadishu, has added to mounting levels of starvation and epidemic disease especially in southern and central Somalia. More people were displaced in Somalia in the past month, than in any other conflict in the world. Continuing insecurity, and deliberate harassment and obstruction by all parties is seriously impeding relief efforts. Against a UN appeal of $262 million DFID has committed over £3.6 million to humanitarian activities in 2007, and is considering further support.

Afghanistan: Peace Keeping Operations

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress is being made on reconstruction works in Afghanistan being undertaken by those responsible to him.

Adam Ingram: The Secretary of State announced the deployment of additional Royal Engineers on 10 July 2006 to accelerate the reconstruction effort in southern Afghanistan. It is worth noting, though, that the UK task force as a whole is deployed to provide security so that reconstruction and development may take place.
	The following tables list quick impact projects being undertaken in Helmand Province, and the progress that has been made to date. I have stated the agency responsible for the implementation of each project, and identified whether the responsible agency reports to the MOD. It is important to note, however, that in all instances the military work closely with other Government Departments and non-governmental organisations to agree key priorities with the Afghan authorities. In many instances, project delivery will require the involvement of a number of agencies. This is in line with our comprehensive approach.
	In addition to the projects in the following table, there are a number of long-term development initiatives being undertaken throughout Afghanistan, to which the Department for International Development (DFID) contributes. DFID funds around $60 million over three years (2006-09) in support of their Helmand Agriculture and Rural Development Programme.
	
		
			  Security 
			  Responsible agency  Agency responsible to MOD  Location  Title  Total cost ($)  Status 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Lashkar Gah Permanent Vehicle Check Point (PVCP) 21,387 Complete 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Gereshk Afghan National Police (ANP) Infrastructure in Gereshk 240,000 Complete 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Lashkar Gah Afghan National Army (ANA) Platoon House 40,387 Complete 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Lashkar Gah ANP Outposts 143,964 Complete 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Lashkar Gah 4 x PVCPs 155,000 Complete 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Lashkar Gah 4 x Enhanced PVCPs 110,000 Complete 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Helmand Construction resources for 12 modular Military Construction Force built ANP temporary police stations/PVCPs 600,000 Complete 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Lashkar Gah New Joint Provincial Coordination Centre 161,147 Complete 
			 Governor's Office No Lashkar Gah 2 x PVCPs 16,800 Complete 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Lashkar Gah Ablutions at US Protection and Investigations (USPI) compound for Afghan National Auxiliary Police (ANAP) training 5,265 Complete 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Tombstone Camp Shorabak (ANA) Mosque 100,000 Planned 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Lashkar Gah Provision of security infrastructure for Governor's office and Bost Hotel 84,227 In progress 
			 Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team (OMLT) Yes Kajaki Water/Fuel storage for the ANA 1,200 In progress 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Gereshk Upgrade to ANA compound in Gereshk 15,000 Complete 
			 Operations Company Yes Laskhar Gah Upgrade to Muktar Gate 6,475 In progress 
			 42 Commando Yes Nowzad Rubble Clearance 0 In progress 
			 Royal Military Police (RMP) Yes Lashkar Gah Bonus Scheme for ANP top-performers at PVCPs 3,000 In progress 
			 Information Exploitation Group Yes Garmsir Garmsir PVCP repairs 700 In progress 
			 Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) No Lashkar Gah Afghan Meeting facility 651 Complete 
			 Total1,705,203  
		
	
	
		
			  Social and economic development 
			  Responsible agency  Agency responsible to MOD  Location  Title  Total cost ($)  Status 
			 Helping Afghan Farmers Organisation (HAFO) No Gereshk Sayed Tajdar Shrine: wall and gate construction 21,224 Complete 
			 HAFO No Gereshk Sayed Tajdar Shrine: road and footpath construction 33,076 Complete 
			 HAFO No Lashkar Gah Improvement of Friday market and Gabion wall 140,623 Complete 
			 HAFO No Cha-i-Anjeer Improvement of Friday market 24,950 Complete 
			 HAFO No Lashkar Gah Gabion Extension 34,108 Complete 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Lashkar Gah Safean Playground 50,000 In progress 
			 PRT No Lashkar Gah Support to Office of Governor to respond to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) needs 60,000 Complete 
			 Information Operations (IO) Yes Lashkar Gah improvements to Media Centre 8,336 Complete 
			 Civil-Military Co-operation (CIMIC) Yes Lashkar Gah/Gereshk Installation of solar-powered lighting 280,960 In progress 
			 IO Yes Lashkar Gah Support to Radio Stations 150,000 In progress 
			 HAFO No Lashkar Gah Weir on Helmand River 161,848 Complete 
			 HAFO No Lashkar Gah Extension of Gabion walls on Helmand River 168,045 Complete 
			 HAFO No Lashkar Gah Silt Removal from Helmand River 259,479 Complete 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Lashkar Gah Bost Hospital Generator and Mortuary 130,400 Complete 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Lashkar Gah Security wall for Women's Centre 30,000 Complete 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Lashkar Gah Building work for Kartelegan and Toortank day care centres 86,052 Complete 
			 CIMIC Yes Lashkar Gah Women's Centre sewing ISAF cadges to UK mil uniforms 750 Complete 
			 Governor's Office No Nahrisiraj Work to clear and strengthen stretch of Nahrisiraj canal 12,000 Complete 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Lashkar Gah Construction of 8 new classrooms at Zacor School 80,008 In progress 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Lashkar Gah Connection of a new school to electricity grid 1,809 Complete 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Lashkar Gah Construction of a 20 room midwifery hostel 221,762 In progress 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Lashkar Gah Construction of a perimeter wall for Cha I Anjeer school 25,000 Complete 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Lashkar Gah Essential repairs to Bolan Bridge 231,728 In progress 
			 CIMIC Yes Lashkar Gah Welfare Association for Development of Afghanistan (WADAN) Playground 1,090 Complete 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Lashkar Gah Repairs to 3 schools 185,062 In progress 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Lashkar Gah Improvements to Lashkar Gah library 13,925 Complete 
			 CIMIC Yes Lashkar Gah Sports equipment for 8 schools 0 Planned 
			 CIMIC Yes Lashkar Gah School sports equipment 30,000 Planned 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Lashkar Gah Kartelegan Playground 52,237 Complete 
			 CIMIC Yes Lashkar Gah Welfare Centre Kitchen 15,819 In progress 
			 HAFO No Lashkar Gah Women's Park 840,813 In progress 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Lashkar Gah New School in Qala-e-Khana 0 Complete 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Lashkar Gah Refurbishment of Nawa School 72,713 In progress 
			 Ministry of Public Health No Lashkar Gah Rapid Assessment of Mukhtar IDP camp 973 Complete 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Musa Qaleh Repairs to 3 mosques 350,000 Planned 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Gereshk Playground and Football pitch 139,098 In progress 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Gereshk Seminar Awal School repairs 0 Planned 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Gereshk Technical School repairs 0 Planned 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Gereshk Abolfathi Botsi Boys School Repairs 0 Planned 
			 CIMIC Yes Lashkar Gah Ministry of Agriculture Tree 6,750 In progress 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Garmsir Reconstruction using local labour—road, wells, ditches 4,000 In progress 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Garmsir Culvert bridge 500 In progress 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Garmsir Bore Hole and Hand Pump 1,750 In Progress 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Nahr-e-Saraj Lashkar Gah-Gereshk canal road culvert and gravel track repairs 28,272 In progress 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Lashkar Gah 3 km asphalt road and solid drainage Kartelegan-601 429,950 In progress 
			 CIMIC Yes Garmsir CHC Generator Repair 505 In progress 
			 CIMIC Yes Lashkar Gah/Gereshk Midwifery Kits 5,416 In progress 
			 Stabilisation Advisor (STABAD) No Lashkar Gah Carpet weaving pilot project 182,733 In Progress 
			 CIMIC Yes Lashkar Gah Furniture for Zacor High School 20,000 Complete 
			 PRT No Helmand Support to Director of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (DRRD) for Musa Qaleh IDPs 800 Complete 
			 CIMIC Yes Gereshk Refuse Collection Points and new trucks 34,000 In progress 
			 CIMIC Yes Lashkar Gah Upgrade to Bost Hospital Grounds 50,860 In progress 
			 CIMIC Yes Gereshk Furniture for Gereshk Women's Group 1,920 Complete 
			 HAFO No Lashkar Gah Lashkar Gah Bus Station 854,327 In progress 
			 UK Task Force (UKTF) Yes Gannsir Wells and Water Tower 10,800 In progress 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Lashkar Gah Covered waiting area at Bost Hospital 7,000 Complete 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Lashkar Gah Reconstruct Dept of Land Registry 98,142 In progress 
			 CIMIC Yes Helmand Procure 3 GPS units 500 In progress 
			 PRT No Helmand Provide Plant Machinery to DRRD 2,268,000 In progress 
			 Police Mentors No Lashkar Gah Additional Support to the Traffic Division 40,000 In progress 
			 Total17,860,113  
		
	
	
		
			  Governance 
			  Responsible agency  Agency responsible to MOD  Location  Title  Total cost ($)  Status 
			 BBC World Service (BBCWS) No Lashkar Gah/Gereshk Radio Transmitter 94,231 Complete 
			 RMP Yes Helmand ID card making facility (ANP) 30,295 Complete 
			 PRT No Lashkar Gah Generators for the Governor's Office and compound 220,186 Complete 
			 Justice Advisor No Lashkar Gah Wall for the Office of the Prosecutor 10,000 Planned 
			 Governance Advisor No Lashkar Gah Refurbish of Officers for Provincial Government Departments 32,000 In progress 
			 IO Yes Lashkar Gah Rehabilitate Printing Press 224,098 In progress 
			 Governor's Office No Musa Qaleh Set up costs for Musa Qaleh District Administration 10,000 Complete 
			 RMP Yes Lashkar Gah Equipment for 8 PVCPs 32,584 In progress 
			 PRT No Lashkar Gah Additional support to the Dept of Hajj 24,167 In progress 
			 Police Mentors No Lashkar Gah Support to ANP Traffic Division 32,631 In progress 
			 Total710,192  
		
	
	
		
			  Counter-narcotics (CN) 
			  Responsible agency  Agency responsible to MOD  Location  Title  Total cost ($)  Status 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Lashkar Gah Regrading of Bost Airfield 555,000 In progress 
			 MNCC No Lashkar Gah Windmill Wells 10,640 In progress 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Lashkar Gah Upgrade to Lashkar Gah prison 45,385 Complete 
			 British Embassy Drugs Team (BEDT) No Lashkar Gah Comms equipment for the Counter-Narcotics Police Authority (CNPA) 8,900 Complete 
			 BEDT No Helmand PA Systems for 12 District Centres 3,000 Complete 
			 BEDT No Helmand CN Tractor Repairs 12,000 Complete 
			 BEDT No Helmand CN Tractor Ploughs 30,000 Complete 
			 BEDT No Lashkar Gah Tractors and equipment for the Governor 884,718 In progress 
			 Royal Engineers Yes Lashkar Gah Repair to bomb-damage at the Directorate of Counter-Narcotics 21,079 Complete 
			 BEDT No Lashkar Gah Upgrade to Counter Narcotics Provincial Administration 88,925 In progress 
			 BEDT No Lashkar Gah Incinerator for Bost hospital 30,000 In progress 
			 BEDT No Lashkar Gah Uniforms for the Prison Staff 5,000 Complete 
			 BEDT No Lashkar Gah Computer for Chief of Police 1,761 Complete 
			 BEDT No Lashkar Gah Support to the Counter Narcotics Provincial Administration 340,000 In progress 
			 Total2,031,408

Afghanistan: Peace Keeping Operations

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  which British military units are deployed to Afghanistan, broken down by Afghan province;
	(2)  when he plans to update the list of units deployed to Afghanistan on his Department's website.

Des Browne: holding answer 2 May 2007
	Following the recent roulement of forces in Afghanistan, an up to date list of military units deployed to Afghanistan is now available on the MOD website.
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/OperationsFactsheets/OperationsInAfghanistanBritishForces.htm

Afghanistan: Peace Keeping Operations

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) British and  (b) Afghan (i) armed forces members and (ii) civilians were killed in (A) each of the years since the present conflict began and (B) in each month of the most recent year.

Des Browne: holding answer 8 May 2007
	The numbers of UK military and civilian personnel killed or injured in Afghanistan are published on the Ministry of Defence website:
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/OperationsFactsheets
	and are in the following tables. Figures cover military personnel and UK civilians employed, or contracted, by the MOD.
	
		
			  Number of UK military and civilian fatalities from 7 October 2001 to 31 December 2006 
			   Number 
			 2001 0 
			 2002 3 
			 2003 0 
			 2004 1 
			 2005 1 
			 2006 39 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of UK military and civilian fatalities in 2007 by completed month 
			   Number 
			 January 2 
			 February 2 
			 March 4 
			 April 1 
		
	
	Figures for Afghan armed forces fatalities are not held by the UK and are a matter for the Afghan National Government. There are no reliable means of ascertaining the numbers of Afghan civilians killed during the period since the conflict began. The UK makes every effort to minimise the impact of military action on the Afghan population.

Departments: Paper

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of paper used  (a) for photocopying and  (b) in printed publications by his Department was from recycled sources in each of the last three years.

Derek Twigg: The percentage of paper used for photocopying and printed publications from recycled sources in the last three years is as follows:
	In MOD Main Building, 100 per cent. of the paper used for photocopying comes from recycled sources, a practice which started in March 2006. For the Department as a whole, the figures for the last three years are as follows; 2.1 per cent. for 2004-05; 1.8 per cent. for 2005-06; 1.9 per cent. for 2006-07. As a Department, it is planned that as of October 2007, 100 per cent. of paper used for photocopying will be from recycled sources.
	In 2006-07, the percentage of paper used for printed publications coming from recycled sources was 3.1 per cent. This figure is based on two thirds of MOD printed publications, the remaining one third covers smaller independent contracts for which data is unobtainable.
	Data for the previous two years is unavailable from the supplier. As of April 2007, our new suppliers are required to print on paper containing a minimum of 50 per cent. recycled fibres.
	As these targets are being put in place this year, our current data will not reflect this step change in paper procurement.

Departments: Telephone Services

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many telephone helplines are sponsored by his Department with the prefix  (a) 0870 and  (b) 0845; and whether alternative geographic numbers are available in each case.

Derek Twigg: The use of 0800, 0845 or 0870 numbers in the Department and it's Agencies is determined at local level in accordance with individual business requirements and ordered directly from the supplier. Records of these numbers are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Iraq: Peace Keeping Operations

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements are in place for the medical welfare of reserve forces who have served in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan on their return; and in what ways such arrangements differ to those in place for regular servicemen and women.

Derek Twigg: Any mobilised serviceman or woman injured when on operational deployment is treated the same, and will receive exactly the same medical treatment and support, whether they are regular or reserve. If a medical officer in-theatre assesses that a member of the reserve forces requires treatment or rehabilitation back in the UK, they will be treated in exactly the same way as regular personnel. This may include treatment and rehabilitation at a military Regional Rehabilitation Unit or the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court, Surrey, or—if the problem is related to their mental health—admission to the Priory Group or treatment at a military Department of Community Mental Health.
	When reserve personnel are demobilised, they are given a medical assessment. During this process, if it is identified that they are in need of an operation they may be referred to NHS hospitals housing Ministry of Defence Hospital Units or The Royal College of Defence Medicine at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham, where they will be treated within military time frames which can in some cases offer faster access to treatment. Reserve personnel will receive treatment for injuries sustained on operation until they are deemed to have reached a steady state of fitness. They are then demobilised, and taken through a transition from military to NHS care, if they have continuing health care needs.
	The patient may express a preference for treatment in a hospital nearer to their home, which may be a non-MDHU hospital, and some reservists opt for this route. In accordance with NHS protocols, if they are referred on to a non-MDHU hospital, then access to treatment is according to clinical priority.
	Once demobilised it is a long established tradition that reserve forces' medical welfare becomes the responsibility of their local NHS primary care trust and the majority of Veterans' physical and mental health needs are met by these provisions. However, the MOD recognises that it has an expertise to offer in certain specific circumstances, and in November 2006 launched a new initiative—the Reserves Mental Health Programme. This is open to personnel who have been demobilised since January 2003 following overseas operational deployment as a reservist and who have concerns that their mental health has suffered primarily as a result of their operational service leading up to their demobilisation.
	They will be invited to attend the Reserves Training and Mobilisation Centre at Chilwell, Nottinghamshire, where members of the Defence Medical Services will carry out an assessment of their mental health. If it is considered that they are eligible for out-patient treatment by the Defence Medical Services, this will be provided at one of the military Departments of Community Mental Health, at the most convenient site to meet the individual's circumstances whenever possible. More details of the programme are available at:
	http://www.army.mod.uk/rtmc/rmhp.htm
	Finally, the Government fund courses of care at Combat Stress facilities for both regulars and reservists whose condition is due to service and for whom this is an appropriate course of treatment.

Permanent Joint Headquarters

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how the permanent joint headquarters is integrated with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 19 March 2007
	The Ministry of Defence (MOD) engages with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Department for International Development (DfID) on operational issues through a number of tri-departmental strategic and working groups from ministerial level downwards. Desk level officials maintain close and regular contacts across departments. Policy and Commitments staff in MOD head office lead on cross governmental engagement. Permanent joint headquarters (PJHQ) staff are consulted and contribute on operational and tactical matters to provide an integrated HMG response.
	At the tactical level, as part of the UK's comprehensive approach to our operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Balkans, personnel in theatre engage regularly with their deployed counterparts in the FCO and DfID. PJHQ staff monitor and advise as necessary on these interactions.
	The MOD has also developed a formal agreement with DfID on the provision of military assistance to humanitarian relief operations and is in the process of agreeing service levels with the FCO on the provision of military assistance to evacuation operations.

Agriculture: Productivity

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to help improve the productivity of farming.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 8 May 2007
	Total factor productivity for UK farming, which shows the volume of output leaving the industry per unit of all inputs including fixed capital and labour, rose by 2.1 per cent. in 2006. More information about the productivity levels of UK farming can be found in the DEFRA publication 'Agriculture in the United Kingdom'.
	DEFRA continues to conduct research, at both the farm level and through aggregate comparisons with other countries, into what influences the productivity of UK farming.
	Improving productivity is a key element for our vision for farming, which identifies an industry that is profitable in the market place, makes a positive net environmental contribution and manages the landscape and the natural assets that underlie it.
	We are undertaking a range of actions to improve the competitive position of farming in England. These include:
	i. The use of Axis 1 funding of the new Rural Development Programme for England, which will be used to promote greater awareness of market opportunities, including for diversified enterprises, the benefits of collaboration and co-operation, and the acquisition of skills needed to exploit new opportunities.
	ii. Restructuring the five statutory horticulture and agriculture levy boards into one overarching levy board with subsidiary, sectoral companies, thus allowing for efficiencies and commonalities to be identified, in order to help the sectors involved. For example, the new structure will facilitate exchange of information across the sectors on issues of common interest such as water and waste.
	iii. In addition to that available under the agriculture development scheme, the Government has provided a significant amount of dedicated funding to the Food Chain Centre and the Red Meat and Cereals Industry Forums, and English Farming and Food Partnerships, as a transitional measure to help the industry adapt to a more market-orientated future.
	iv. Implementation of the non- food crops strategy, which aims to drive forward the bio-based economy through research, dissemination of technology and knowledge, and building supply chains from agriculture to industry.
	v. Supporting the quality regional food sector through a five year £5 million programme (which began in 2003-04) with the specific objective of creating a flourishing high quality regional food sector.
	vi. Working with stakeholders to progress the action plan to develop organic food and farming in England which aims to create a sustainable and competitive organic farming and food sector.
	vii. Support for farmers to take advantage of financial risk management products to enable them to be more resilient to increased price volatility, and to increase uptake of the business benchmarking software that is available under through the whole farm approach.
	viii. Helping farmers and growers under the public sector food procurement initiative (PSFPI) to develop the capabilities and capacity necessary to meet the public sector's requirements for food.
	ix. Establishment of the biomass action plan with the objective of addressing barriers to the production of biomass energy, and stimulating the development of the sector.
	x. Improving the regulation of farming, by making it more effective, and efficient for farmers, thus helping them to reduce costs and increase competitiveness.
	xi. The whole farm approach (WFA) helps farmers to identify where there is a regulatory requirement and the actions necessary to fulfil that requirement, supported by targeted help and guidance.
	xii. Developing a business competence framework for the environmental and land-based sectors to provide a clear understanding of what skills an individual will require to work in particular industries and in particular jobs within those industries.
	xiii. Supporting the initiative which aims to encourage new people into the farming industry with the appropriate skills to succeed in a market-driven environment.

Black Environment Network: Finance

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have provided to the Black Environment Network; for what purpose the funding was provided; and what the outcome of such funding has been, broken down by project.

Barry Gardiner: The following table shows funding contributions to the Black Environment Network (BEN) over recent years from English Nature and the Countryside Agency (CA), as founding bodies for Natural England.
	
		
			  £ 
			   Countryside agency  English nature  Natural England 
			 2002-03 13,300 3,000 — 
			 2003-04 7,700 3,000 — 
			 2004-05 7,800 7,000 — 
			 2005-06 5,200 3,000 — 
			 2006-07 0 0 0 
			 Totals 34,000 16,000 — 
		
	
	No payments have been made to BEN after 1 October 2006 from any of the founding bodies, or Natural England.
	English Nature (EN) had a long standing relationship with BEN and recognised the valuable work done to support and develop the involvement of ethnic minority groups and individuals with the natural environment. The payments in 2004-05 and 2005-06 were to further develop their national and regional networks, and to provide English Nature staff with awareness training, advice and guidance with projects involving ethnic communities.
	Through our support, BEN was able to improve its network administration and support, further develop its website, and share good practice. An English Nature staff training event was very successful and well attended. Staff gained confidence and understanding, and were able to follow up and seek specific advice on their projects.
	Additionally, the CA provided a three year grant to fund specific posts within BEN from January 2002 to March 2005.
	BEN received funding of £98,473 over three years for their project 'Core Strategic Programme' under the Environmental Action Fund (EAF) 2002-05.
	The project aim was to support and enable ethnic participation in sustainable development through developing the knowledge, skills and values needed to make decisions about how they do things, individually and collectively, locally and globally.
	Key project activities and outcomes included:
	Work developing and strengthening BEN as an infrastructural organisation
	enabling active participation in sustainable living,
	Formalisation and promotion of partnership initiatives focussed on ethnic environmental participation,
	Strategic participation in mainstream environmental movement, in order to maintain profile of ethnic community environmental participation,
	Publication and promotion of resource materials based on models of good practice, in order to stimulate ethnic community environmental participation,
	Development and promotion of BEN as a training and consultancy resource for ethnic community environmental participation.

Departments: Expenditure

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department spent on  (a) temporary staff accommodation and  (b) travel expenses in each year since 2001.

Barry Gardiner: The Department does not maintain a discreet record of expenditure on temporary staff accommodation.
	Details of travel expenses can be found under other administration costs in the notes to the Department's resource accounts.

Departments: Manpower

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff were employed in the press offices of  (a) his Department and  (b) each of its agencies in each year since 2001.

Barry Gardiner: The number of press officers in Core DEFRA is tabulated as follows, with the census point for the number of press officers, taken as June for each year. The staffing numbers for the Press Office fluctuate during the course of any one year.
	
		
			  Staff number as at June 
			   Press officers 
			 2001 22 
			 2002 22 
			 2003 22 
			 2004 18 
			 2005 24 
			 2006 24 
		
	
	The DEFRA Press Office provides services for the Central Science Laboratory, Government Decontamination Service, Marine and Fisheries Agency, Pesticide Safety Directorate, Veterinary Laboratory Agency, and Veterinary Medicines Directorate.
	The number of staff employed in the press offices of each of the remaining DEFRA agencies of CEFAS (Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences) and the Rural Payments Agency, in each year since 2001 is tabulated as follows:
	
		
			   Agency 
			   CEFAS  RPA 
			 2001 0.02 0.2 
			 2002 0.03 0.2 
			 2003 0.03 0.2 
			 2004 0.68 0.2 
			 2005 1.0 0.2 
			 2006 1.0 1.0

Departments: Orders and Regulations

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many regulations were implemented by his Department in each year since 2001.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 8 May 2007
	The number of Statutory Instruments implemented by the Department for the years 2001-06 are: 2001—133 (includes those implemented by MAFF up to June 2001); 2002—120; 2003—106; 2004—125; 2005—144; 2006—150; The figure to date for 2007 is 59.
	DEFRA is committed to a comprehensive programme of regulating better. Our December 2006 simplification plan, maximising outcomes, minimising burdens, explains the action that is being taken across DEFRA and its agencies to reduce administrative burdens and to improve regulations and identifies over 130 separate initiatives that will contribute to meeting our target of reducing the administrative burden we impose on business by 25 per cent. by 2010. Those initiatives are scheduled to deliver an annual administrative burden reduction of around £159 million. That includes removing redundant legislation, without compromising environmental standards, seeking alternatives to traditional regulation and taking a risk-based approach to enforcement and inspection. A copy of the simplification plan is available from the Library of the House.

Eggs

Elliot Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking under the public sector food procurement initiative to encourage public sector bodies to purchase non-cage eggs when procuring food and meals; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: The public sector food procurement initiative does not have specific guidance on purchasing eggs. Key objectives of the initiative, which apply to all food purchases, include increasing tendering opportunities for small and local food producers, raising standards of production, and addressing barriers to supply.
	DEFRA's Procurement and Contracts Division has included a model specification clause on farm assurance standards in the public sector food procurement initiative's catering toolkit. This is helping to raise the profile of animal welfare in public sector food procurement and facilitate the purchase of products from welfare friendly producers.
	In the longer term, the European Commission's "Community Action Plan on the Protection and Welfare of Animals 2006-10" proposes quantifiable animal welfare indicators and an ED welfare labelling scheme for products produced from high welfare protection systems. This should enable public sector purchasers to make more informed decisions.

Fishing Catches

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his estimate is of the amount of fish discarded in UK waters in each month since January 2006 by  (a) UK vessels and  (b) non-UK vessels; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The information is as follows:
	 (a) It is not possible to provide figures for discards solely in UK waters. The discard estimates used by ICES in stock assessments are carried out in relation to particular sea areas (e.g. the North Sea) rather than national waters.
	Since 2002 all EU countries have been required to collect data on discarding under Council Regulation 1543/2000, but the information is not yet compiled systematically. Quantities of discards are estimated quarterly using data collected by scientific observers aboard commercial fishing vessels. They are required to record the quantity landed and discarded, and the species and size composition of the discards each time the fishing gear is hauled. Deploying scientific observers in this manner is expensive and time consuming, with the result that it is usually only possible to sample a small proportion of the overall fishing trips in a given area. As a result it is necessary to extrapolate from the limited sampling to provide estimates for the entire fleet. Although the sampling is intended to cover a representative sample of the fleet, this does mean that the estimates of total discards are subject to uncertainty.
	Quarterly figures for discards of some important commercial species in 2006 are given in the following table. The table also includes estimates of landings and discard rates by the same fleet segments in order to provide an indication of the relative importance of discarding in each case. The figures given are as follows:
	
		
			  Country  Area  Species  Type  Q1  Q2  Q3  Q4 
			 English and Welsh registered vessels North Sea ICES sub-area IV Cod L 240.4 214.9 406.4 323.8 
			D 20.5 65.4 243.1 252.2 
			DR (%) 7.9 23.3 37.4 43.8 
			 
			   Haddock L 68.2 50.6 75.7 107.0 
			D 23.8 35.3 148.5 102.6 
			DR (%) 25.8 41.1 66.2 48.9 
			 
			   Plaice L 1,390.0 1,432.5 2,119.7 1,425.0 
			D 17.9 4.9 290.9 37.1 
			DR (%) 1.3 0.3 12.1 2.5 
			 
			   Sole L 141.6 48.9 35.7 99.9 
			D 0.1 29.4 0.0 7.6 
			DR (%) 0.1 37.5 0.0 7.1 
			 
			   Whiting L 668.8 538.2 831.9 369.0 
			D 260.4 54.7 334.9 735.3 
			DR (%) 28.0 9.2 28.7 66.6 
			 
			 Scottish registered vessels North Sea ICES sub-area IV Cod L 1,505.8 1,918.8 2,003.0 1,136.1 
			D 262.1 587.3 331.1 489.1 
			DR (%) 14.8 23.4 14.2 30.1 
			 
			   Haddock L 9,744.0 4,792.0 9,882.0 7,081.8 
			D 2,669.2 3,503.2 5,262.9 3,234.1 
			DR (%) 21.5 42.2 34.8 31.4 
			 
			   Saithe L 2,671.6 2,769.1 1,579.1 712.8 
			D 1,366.1 955.6 2,648.9 752.1 
			DR (%) 33.8 25.7 62.7 51.3 
			 
			   Whiting L 2,189.9 1,891.6 1,843.0 2,017.1 
			D 1,122.1 933.4 1,114.2 1,287.1 
			DR (%) 33.9 33.0 37.7 39.0 
			 
			 Scottish registered vessels West of Scotland ICES Division VIa Cod L 70.2 100.6 93.6 43.3 
			D 19.9 32.8 214.1 53.8 
			DR (%) 22.1 24.6 69.6 55.4 
			 
			   Haddock L 1,150.7 1,938.4 1,218.0 596.2 
			D 680.9 1,205.2 1,961.6 605.5 
			DR (%) 37.2 38.3 61.7 50.4 
			 
			   Saithe L 603.3 648.6 399.8 706.9 
			D 233.2 755.7 302.3 407.0 
			DR (%) 27.9 53.8 43.1 36.5 
			 
			   Whiting L 35.0 42.9 48.6 50.9 
			D 99.4 104.0 246.3 197.8 
			DR (%) 73.9 70.8 83.5 79.5 
			  Notes: L: Estimated landings (tonnes) D: Estimated discards (tonnes) DR: Discard rate, i.e. percentage of total catch in weight that is discarded. 
		
	
	There are a number of reasons for these discards. The mixed nature of most fisheries in EU waters, means that fish of these and other species often swim together with others which fishermen have no interest in (for example because there is no market for the fish or they have no relevant quota allocation), all of which may be caught at the same time. Discards also arise from the catching of juvenile or undersized fish. In order to avoid this happening and those fish that are not required having to be discarded, UK Fisheries Departments are funding a range of work, in collaboration with the industry, looking at making the respective fishing activity more selective in terms of either species or size. The industry will be encouraged to use any such gear modifications which prove successful. The EU Commission has also made clear in its recent publication on discards that it attaches high priority to tackling this issue throughout ED waters.
	 (b) Discard estimates from other EU countries are not yet available for 2006, but these should appear later in the year. The UK is continuing to press the Commission to ensure all member states provide full sets of the relevant data. In the longer term, there are plans to develop a "Discards Atlas"—a compendium of available information from member states on discards—as a resource for fisheries science.

Environment: Technology

Mark Hoban: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether his Department plans to publish proposals on environmental technology and its employment potential.

John Prescott: I am deputy chair of the Cabinet Committee on Energy and the Environment, which develops the Government's energy and environmental policies, monitors the impact on sustainable development of the Government's policies, and considers issues of climate change, security of supply and affordability of energy.
	The UK environmental goods and services industry is strong, well established and diverse, employing approximately 400,000 people in around 17,000 companies, with an estimated annual turnover of £25 billion. A recent joint report by the Department for Trade and Industry and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 'A Study of the Emerging Markets in the Environmental Sector', estimates that this turnover will increase to more than £34 billion by 2010 and £46 billion by 2015. This is available on the DTI website at:
	http://www.dti.gov.uk/sectors/environmental/index.html.
	A Commission on Environmental Markets and Economic Performance was established in November last year and will publish its report in the spring. It will make recommendations on how the UK can make the most of the opportunity that environmental protection can present for wealth creation and employment growth. The Commission is jointly-chaired by the Secretaries of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Trade and Industry, and its membership is drawn from business, non-governmental organisations, academia, trade unions and public sector organisations.

Departments: India

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which Ministers in her Department have visited India in the last 12 months; on how many occasions each Minister visited India; and what the length was of each visit.

Hilary Armstrong: This Government publishes an annual list of Cabinet Ministers' travel overseas costing over £500 along with the total cost of all ministerial travel. Information for 2005-06 was published on 26 July 2006 and is available in the Library for the reference of members. Information for 2006-07 is currently in the process of being collected and will be published as soon as it is ready.
	All travel is in accordance with the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers.

Departments: Sexual Harassment

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many complaints of sexual harassment have been investigated in her Office in the last 12 months; and how many complaints have been upheld.

Hilary Armstrong: In order to protect the confidentiality of individuals, it is standard Government practice not to publish records relating to five or less individuals.

Departments: Sick Leave

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people took sick leave for stress in the Prime Minister's Office in the last 12 months; and what percentage of the total staff number this represents.

Hilary Armstrong: The Prime Minister's Office forms part of the Cabinet Office.
	In order to protect the confidentiality of individuals, it is standard Government practice not to publish records relating to five or less individuals.

Voluntary Work: Young People

Maria Miller: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the total value in grants made by the v organisation has been to date, broken down by type of grant; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Miliband: Between May 2006 and May 2007 v have made grants totalling £13 million to projects in order to provide volunteering opportunities for over 59,000 young people. The grants provided for 22,000 short-term volunteering opportunities, 13,000 part-time, 1,200 full-time and 23,000 through volunteer development teams which work with statutory bodies to enable them to create volunteering opportunities for young people.
	A further 55,000 volunteering opportunities have been created through match funding and partnerships with the private sector.

Alcoholic Drinks: Children

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions there were of under age purchasers of alcohol in each year for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: Data extracted from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform showing the number of defendants prosecuted for being under age purchasers of alcohol from 1995 to 2005 in England and Wales is shown in the following table. Court proceedings data for 2006 will be available in the autumn of 2007.
	As an alternative to court proceedings, the offence under section 149(1) of the Licensing Act 2003 of buying or attempting to buy alcohol by person under 18 can attract a Penalty Notice for Disorder (PND). The offence was added to the scheme in 2005 and there were 21 Penalty Notices issued that year. The provisional figure for 2006 shows that 70 Penalty Notices were issued during that year.
	
		
			  Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for person under 18 buying or attempting to buy or consuming intoxicating liquor, England and Wales 1995 to 2005( 1,)( )( 2,)( )( 3) 
			  Offence  Statute  1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Person under 18 buying or attempting to buy or consuming intoxicating liquor. Person under 18 buying or consuming intoxicating liquor in Licensed premises. Licensing (Occasional Permissions) Act 1983 Schedule (Sec 3) para 4(2). Licensing Act 1964 Sec 169(2) 25 33 31 39 38 24 21 16 29 21 21 
			 (1 )These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) The licensing (Occasional Permissions) Act 1983 and the Licensing Act 1964 were repealed by the Licensing Act 2003 which came into force on 24 November 2005. There were no prosecutions for the newly created offence under the 2003 Act of buying or attempting to buy alcohol by a person under 18 (Section 149(1)(a)) in 2005. The figure for 2005 in the above table represents the number of defendants proceeded against under the old statute ( Licensing (Occasional Permissions) Act 1983 Schedule (Sec 3) para 4(2). Licensing Act 1964 Sec 169(2)).

Asylum

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average processing time is for a claim by an asylum seeker or refugee with extraordinary leave to remain for indefinite leave to remain; and how many such claims are in process as of 17 April.

Liam Byrne: As of April 2007, there are just under 6,000 such applications(1)( )awaiting decision. An expanded team is working to clear these cases as quickly as possible.
	The Border and Immigration Agency does not record average processing time.
	The data is not provided under the national statistics protocols. It has been derived from local management information and is therefore provisional and subject to change.
	(1) Figures rounded to the nearest 100.

Asylum

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria his Department uses for granting people political asylum in the UK.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 23 April 2007
	The Border and Immigration Agency uses the criteria laid down in the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, as interpreted in Council Directive 2004/83/EC of the European Union. These criteria are set out in The Refugee or Person in Need of International Protection (Qualification) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006 No.2525) and in the Immigration Rules (in particular the Statement of changes Cm 6918 of 18 September 2006), to which decision makers have regard when granting people political asylum in the UK.
	The criteria are detailed and explained in the Asylum Instruction Assessing the Claim, which can be found on the website of the Border and Immigration Agency at:
	http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/asylumpolicyinstructions/

Border and Immigration Agency

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how much his Department has spent on the transition of the Immigration and Nationality Department to the Border and Immigration Agency;
	(2)  how much his Department has spent on the regionalisation of the Border and Immigration Agency.

Liam Byrne: Both the regionalisation of the Border and Immigration Agency and the transition to full Agency status are ongoing projects which are at early stages. It is expected that both the regionalisation and transition to shadow Agency status will be delivered within the current resources available to the department.

Deportation

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice is given to deportation escorts on the tightness of handcuffs on deportees; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: All immigration escorting staff are trained in the application of handcuffs.
	They are taught that handcuffs must be checked for security and comfort on application and then periodically whilst they remain in place. The handcuffs should ensure effective security but not be overly constrictive so that the skin is not pinched nor circulation restricted.

Drugs: Misuse

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people reported drug use in the London borough of Bexley in each of the last three years.

Vernon Coaker: The main source of estimates of self-reported drug use is the British Crime Survey (BCS) but this provides information at the national and regional level only. However, the Home Office has commissioned a research study to provide estimates of the number of problematic opiate and crack cocaine users at the local and national level. The results of the first year of this three year study estimated that there were about 593 problem drug users (probable range 447 to 907) in Bexley Drug Action Team area in 2004-05. There are no comparable estimates available for previous years but this research project will produce estimates for 2005-06 and 2006-07 in the future.

Human Trafficking

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of women who have been trafficked into the UK for each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: The nature of the crime makes it difficult to make an accurate assessment of the extent of the problem although intelligence suggests there has been an increase on the trafficking problem over the last two or three years. In order to better understand the situation the Serious Organised Crime Agency along with the United Kingdom Human Trafficking Centre are working to improving intelligence collection as a priority and this features strongly in the National Intelligence Requirements for 2006-07 and 2007-08.
	However, emerging findings from a Home Office research paper due to be published this year estimates that at any one time in 2003 there were in the region of 4,000 female victims of trafficking for prostitution in the UK.

Illegal Immigrants

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal immigrants were referred by police forces to the Border and Immigration Agency in each year between 1997 and 2006; and how many were subsequently deported in each year.

Liam Byrne: This information could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
	Immigration and asylum statistics, including removals and deportations can be found at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html

Immigration: Applications

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects a decision to be made on the application of Satpal Ghusar (reference G1002712) for indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 26 April 2007
	It would not be appropriate for me to comment on individual cases in the House, but I will write to the hon. Member on the subject matter that she has raised.

Passports: Fees and Charges

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints about the cost of passport renewal from women who have renewed their passports early due to a name change following marriage has his Department received in each of the last five years.

Joan Ryan: The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) do not keep records in such a way to be able to extract this information without incurring disproportionate cost. Complaints are recorded within particular categories, each covering a range of issues. There is not a specific category for women who have complained about the cost of renewing passports early due to change of name following marriage. However, the IPS do receive regular representations on this subject. When fees are next reviewed the IPS will discuss with HM Treasury whether the rules on government fees and charges would permit some reduction of the fee in these circumstances.
	The IPS received 8,551 complaints in total in the financial year 2005-06, which represents 0.13 per cent. of the total business.

Prisoners: Qualifications

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of prisoners in prison establishments in England and Wales achieved  (a) GCSE,  (b) post-GCSE and  (c) third level qualifications in each of the last six years; and what steps he is taking to increase the number of prisoners achieving such qualifications.

Phil Hope: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested is not collected centrally. However, following the introduction of the Learning and Skills Council led delivery arrangements for offender learning in England from 31 July 2006, data on prisoner achievement will increasingly become available for adults, young offenders and juveniles in custody.
	The Government's proposals for improving the education of offenders are set out in the "Reducing Re-Offending Through Skills and Employment: Next Steps" document which was published on 13 December 2006. Copies of the document were sent to all Members of Parliament on the day of publication.

Television: Licensing

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much revenue fines from unpaid television licences generated in 2004-05 and 2005-06.

Vernon Coaker: Court proceedings data are collected and published by calendar year.
	A total of £11.1 million was ordered by the courts to be paid by way of fines given for offences of television licence evasion in 2004 in England and Wales where a fine was the principal disposal and this offence the principal offence for which the persons concerned were dealt with. A total of £14.4 million was similarly ordered to be paid in 2005.
	Figures for 2006 will be available in the autumn of this year.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.
	The collection of fine amounts centrally is not sufficiently detailed to show how much of these total sums were actually paid.

Theft: Driver Information Systems

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many thefts of satellite navigation systems for cars took place in  (a) the constituency of Ruislip-Northwood,  (b) each London borough and  (c) England in the last three years for which figures are available;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the value of stolen satellite navigation systems for cars over the last three years for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: Figures for theft of satellite navigation systems are not collected centrally and no estimate has been made of the total value of those stolen.
	Anecdotal evidence from a number of police forces, including the Metropolitan Police, is that this type of theft is a growing problem in some force areas. To help combat it, the Home Office met with a number of the main manufacturers in 2005 and, as a result, some of the manufacturers fast tracked the introduction of security features into new models. The Home Office also produced a crime prevention advice leaflet aimed at motorists showing them the simple steps they could take to help prevent them becoming victims of this type of crime. This leaflet is available on the Home Office website and is intended for use by police and Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships.

Yarl's Wood Detention Centre

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the insurance claim against Bedfordshire Police in relation to the fire at the Yarls Wood detention centre in February 2002 to be settled; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: This is a matter to be settled between the insurance company and Bedfordshire Police.

Departments: Paper

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of paper used  (a) for photocopying and  (b) in printed publications by his Department was from recycled sources in each of the last three years.

Anne McGuire: The Department is committed to meeting cross-Government sustainable operations targets which include commitments to increase recycling rates and the mandatory minimum environmental procurement product standards for paper.
	 (a) Photocopying—paper purchased is used in both photocopiers and office printers therefore, a separate figure for photocopiers is not available.
	
		
			   Usage (Percentage) 
			 2004-05 3 
			 2005-06 (1)Over 90 
			 2006-07 96 
			 (1 )This followed a change of supplier, product and price and the mandatory use of recycled paper. 
		
	
	 (b) Printed publications (this includes Department's claim packs forms and leaflets). From June 2007 all existing contracts for the supply of printed materials will cease and a new contract for the supply of Print and Associated Services will commence. This contract will meet all the sustainable operations targets for the supply of printed materials. All paper used including paper with no recycled content, is derived from sustainable sources.
	
		
			   Usage (Percentage) 
			   100  per cent. con tent( 1)  50  per cent.  content( 2) 
			 2004-05 0 33 
			 2005-06 32 13 
			 2006-07 57 10 
			 (1 )Made from up to 100 per cent. post consumer waste with full Blue Angel accreditation. No bleaching is used in production and the energy supply used by the mill is also 100 per cent. green. (2 )Made from up to 50 per cent. post consumer waste and virgin fibre.

Departments: Standards

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent on mystery shopping exercises in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Anne McGuire: Each of the Department for Work and Pensions' agencies is responsible for operating its own mystery shopping programme. The most recent available information for Jobcentre Plus and the Pension Service are in the following tables.
	
		
			  Jobcentre Plus expenditure on mystery-shopping programme s 
			   £ 
			 2003-04 676,828 
			 2004-05 693,174 
			 2005-06 471,368 
			  Note: Figures for 2006-07 are not yet available. 
		
	
	
		
			  The Pension Service expenditure on mystery-shopping programmes 
			   £ 
			 2004-05 334,490 
			 2005-06 291,400 
			 2006-07 268,000 
		
	
	The Disability and Carers Service (DCS) has not previously used a mystery-shopping programme. DCS tested a mystery-shopping programme from between January and March 2007. The programme proved successful and will be fully rolled-out from April 2007.
	For the period January 2007 to 31 March 2007, DCS's expenditure was £22,120.
	The Child Support Agency has not had a mystery-shopping programme since prior to 2001. No information is available for the expenditure prior to 2001.

Departments: Telephone Services

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether all customer helplines operated by his Department are freephone numbers.

Anne McGuire: No.
	Most DWP helplines use 0845 numbers. The cost of contacting 0845 numbers varies dependant on the time the customer calls, the contract they have with their network provider, and whether calls are made from residential lines or mobile lines. BT advises that the most popular tariff used by residential lines is BT Customer Option 1 or 2. Under these schemes, the cost of peak time calls to 0845 numbers is 2.55 pence per minute.
	Customers using mobile telephones are charged at their network provider's tariff for 0845 calls and may incur a charge even when dialling an 0800 number depending on the contract they have with their network provider.
	If a customer indicates that they are concerned about the cost of a call, a call back will always be offered.
	A breakdown for the Department's helplines and call rates are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Helpline  Call rate 
			 Jobcentre Plus Jobseeker Direct 0845 Local rate 
			 Jobcentre Plus Employer Direct 0845 Local rate 
			 Jobcentre Plus First Contact (making a claim) 0845 Local rate. Currently an 0845 number but this is being replaced by an 0800 number. All First Contact, Contact Centres will have moved to the 0800 number by the end of May 2007. 
			 National Benefit Fraud Hotline 0800 Free to landline callers. 
			 Disability Careers Service Helpline 0845 Local rate. 
			 Benefit Enquiry Line 0800 Free to landline callers. 
			 Child Support Agency National Helpline 0845 Local rate. 
			 The Pension Service All the following services are provided by different 0845 local rate telephone lines: General enquiries Change of circumstances Claims for State Pension Pension forecasts Winter fuel queries Welsh Language Line 
			 Pension Credit Application Line 0800 Free to landline callers. 
			 International Pension Centre 0191 standard rate number for those who live, or have previously lived overseas. 
			 Debt Management Debt Management does not operate a "helpline" as such but access to debt centres is via an 0845 local rate number.

Industrial Health and Safety

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect of trade union safety representatives on workplace safety; and if he will assess the merits of confirming the role and rights of trade union safety representatives in law.

Anne McGuire: Several studies have looked at the effect of trade union safety representatives on workplace safety, including one commissioned by the Health and Safety Executive. Overall, the evidence suggests that trade union safety representatives make a positive contribution to improving health and safety standards in the workplace.
	Ministers look to the Health and Safety Commission for advice on these matters. I understand it is currently looking at measures to support consultation and involvement of workers in health and safety, including better guidance. It will make recommendations to Ministers if appropriate.
	The Government strongly supports the efforts and dedication of all health and safety representatives in helping to make their workplaces healthier and safer.

Pension Credit: West Yorkshire

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many residents in each electoral ward in Warley constituency receive pension credit.

James Purnell: The answer is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Household recipients of pension credit in each ward in Warley constituency ,  August 2006 
			  Ward name  Household recipients 
			 Abbey 540 
			 Bristnall 965 
			 Langley 905 
			 Old Warley 785 
			 St. Pauls 795 
			 Smethwick 1,005 
			 Soho and Victoria 590 
			 Warley Constituency 5,590 
			  Notes: 1. Caseloads are rounded to the nearest five and totals may not sum as a result. 2. Wards are based on 2003 ward boundaries. 3. Household recipients are those people who claim pension credit either for themselves only or on behalf of a household.  Source: DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data.

Pension Service

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to extend the home visiting facility of Pension Service local teams to the under 60 age group; and if he will make a statement.

James Purnell: The Pension Service Local Service are currently running a feasibility pilot in the West Midlands area in partnership with the Disability and Carers Service to investigate the possibility of extending the face to face service to working age customers.
	The pilot is in its early stages and initial evaluation results are anticipated at the beginning of June 2007.

Pension Service

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of Pension Service local team staff were involved in the home visiting service in each of the last four years; and what he expects this proportion to be at 31 March 2008.

James Purnell: In the last four years, 100 per cent. of Pension Service local service staff were involved in the home visiting service, through face to face contact with our customers.
	Support is provided to the local service from a centrally based national team.
	The proportion of local service staff involved in the home visiting service will not change in 2007-08.

Pensions: Index Linking

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of what the cost to the Government would have been in each year had pensions been linked to earnings rather than prices since 1997.

James Purnell: The estimates are in the following table.
	
		
			   Basic state pension cost (£ billion) 
			 1998 0.1 
			 1999 0.5 
			 2000 1.3 
			 2001 1.6 
			 2002 2.4 
			 2003 2.7 
			 2004 2.8 
			 2005 2.9 
			 2006 3.4 
			 2007 3.8 
			  Note: Figures are net in cash terms, are rounded to the nearest million and include UK and overseas pensions   Source:  DWP modelling. 
		
	
	The earnings link will be restored to the basic state pension. The objective is that this will be done, subject to affordability and the fiscal position, in 2012 but in any event at the latest by the end of the next parliament.
	By 2050 the amount of the basic state pension will roughly double in value compared with current policies.

Remploy: Closures

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what closures of Remploy sites are planned; how many  (a) employees and  (b) agency workers there are at each site; and what he expects the costs to be of the closures;
	(2)  which aspects of the PricewaterhouseCoopers report on Remploy he plans to implement;
	(3)  what deadlines have been set to turn around Remploy sites running at a financial loss; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: In my statement on 19 July 2006 I said I would be asking the board of Remploy to undertake the preliminary work to bring forward later this year a five-year restructuring plan with proposals both to modernise the business and to support substantially larger numbers of disabled people into work. They are currently working on that plan.

Remploy: Pay

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what changes there have been to senior management salaries at Remploy since May 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: As a non-departmental public body, the senior management salaries are subject to a pay remit process, which requires that pay increases are within Treasury limits for public sector pay. Remploy pay remits require the approval of the Secretary of State, on behalf of the Treasury. The Remploy senior management pay remit for 2007-08 is currently being considered.
	Remploy no longer holds information on senior management salaries prior to April 2002. The agreed senior management pay remit increases since 2002 are in the following table.
	
		
			  Senior management pay remit increases 
			   Percentage increase 
			 2002-03 2.5 
			 2003-04 2.5 
			 2004-05 2.62 
			 2005-06 3.21 
			 2006-07 3.5

Sick Leave

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of employees returned to work following an absence caused by illness or injury lasting up to  (a) two weeks,  (b) one month,  (c) three months and  (d) six months in the last period for which figures are available.

Anne McGuire: The available information is contained in the following table. It was obtained from the computer systems managers use to record absences. The figures are for the period 1 January 2006-31 December 2006.
	The table shows two sets of figures broken down into length of absence where the employee returned to work during the period. The first shows all recorded sickness absences, the second shows absences recorded as injury and poisoning. It is not possible to show the number and percentage of employees returning from sickness absences of different durations because some employees have had more than one absence during the period; therefore, the figures show the number of absences in each category.
	Absences relating to injury are recorded against a category of 'Injury and Poisoning'. This includes, for example, the toxic effects of alcohol or drugs, any surgical procedures, and road traffic accidents. It is not possible separately to identify cases relating to injuries.
	
		
			   All sickness absences  Absences due to injury and poisoning 
			  Absence duration  Number of absences  Percentage of total absences  Number of absences  Percentage of total absences 
			 Up to two weeks 183,779 90.61 3,185 78.53 
			 Up to one month 7,966 3.93 308 7.59 
			 Up to three months 8,274 4.08 445 10.97 
			 Up to six months 2,229 1.10 84 2.07 
			 Over six months 583 0.29 34 0.84 
			 Total absences 202,831 100.00 4,056 100.00

Ambulance Services: Rural Areas

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of experienced ambulance control room staff in saving lives and minimising risks to patients in rural areas.

Andy Burnham: No assessment has been made of the effectiveness of experienced ambulance control room staff in saving lives and minimising risks to patients in rural areas.
	However, national health service ambulance trust control room staff play an important role in ensuring that responses to 999 calls are dispatched promptly, that calls are prioritised accurately and that callers receive the advice and reassurance that they need. For example, call handlers can provide advice on dealing with childbirth, uncontrolled bleeding or resuscitation to callers while they wait for help to arrive. This advice is routinely provided no matter where the control room or the caller is located.

Asthma

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans she has for the provision of specialist asthma healthcare staff and care plans;
	(2)  what studies her Department has undertaken of the variations in rates of admission for asthma attacks across primary care trusts;
	(3)  what steps her Department is taking  (a) to improve preventative provision for asthma and  (b) to reduce the need for asthma-related emergency admissions.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 8 May 2007
	The Department published "Supporting People with Long-term Conditions—An NHS and Social Care Model" in January 2005. The purpose of the model is to improve the health and quality of life of people with long-term conditions, including asthma, by providing:
	early detection;
	good control to minimise the effects of the disease and reduce complications;
	more effective medicines management to reduce the number of crises; and
	promoting independence by empowering patients allowing them to take control of their lives.
	The new general medical services contract was launched in February 2003. The contract includes a specific quality indicator for treatment and care of people with asthma; based on:
	a register of patients diagnosed with, and prescribed drugs for, asthma;
	a record of patients aged 8 years and over where diagnosis confirmed by spirometry or peak flow measurement; and
	a record of asthma review within past 15 months.
	We are not aware of the Department having undertaken any studies into the variation in admission rates across primary care trusts.
	It is the responsibility of local health bodies to ensure they have adequate staff with the skills necessary to meet the health needs of their local population.

Brain Tumours

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the brain tumour studies being supported by her Department; how much funding has been provided to each study by her Department; and how many  (a) children and  (b) adults are taking part in these studies.

Caroline Flint: The information available is shown in the table.
	
		
			  National Cancer Research Network (NCRN) supported brain tumour studies—Adult brain tumour patients 
			  Title  Research Funder  Status  Recruitment 
			 BR12: Temozolomide vs PCV chemotherapy in the treatment of recurrent malignant glioma Cancer Research UK (CR-UK)/Medical Research Council (MRC) Recruiting 351 
			 BR 14: A randomised controlled trial of temozolomide as adjuvant and/or concurrent treatment in anaplastic (WHO grade III) glioma European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC)/Schering Plough In set-up 0 
			 Primary chemotherapy with temozolomide vs. radiotherapy in patients with low grade gliomas with stratification for genetic 1p loss: a phase III study EORTC/ Schering Plough In set-up 0 
			 No Radiotherapy versus Whole Brain Radiotherapy for 1 to 3 Brain Metastases from Solid Tumor after Surgical Resection or Radiosurgery. A Randomized Phase III Trial EORTC In set-up 0 
			 Phase III Trial comparing Conventional Adjuvant Temozolomide with Dose Intensive Temozolomide in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma EORTC In set-up 0 
			 BR11: Adjuvant procarbazine, CCNU and vincristine chemotherapy in patients with highly anaplastic oligodendroglioma MRC Closed, in follow-up 368 
			 Multicentre, Phase II Study of Carboplatin pre-irradiation in patients with primary glioblastoma multiforme following biospy  Closed, in follow-up 25 (closed early) 
			  Childhood brain tumour patients
			 Hyperfractionated accelerated radiotherapy (HART) with chemotherapy (cisplatin, CCNU, vincristine) for metastatic (M1-3) Medulloblastoma CR-UK Recruiting 18 
			 A Prospective randomised controlled trial of hyperfractionated versus conventionally fractionated radiotherapy in standard risk medulloblastoma CR-UK Recruiting 18 
			 Phase II study of the combination of Cisplatin + Temozolomide in malignant glial tumours in children and adolescents at diagnosis or in relapse CR-UK Recruiting 15 
			 Cooperative Multicentre Study For Children And Adolescents With Low Grade Glioma CR-UK Recruiting 111 
			 Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy of Brain Tumours CR-UK Recruiting 48 
			 Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy of Brain Stem Tumours CR-UK Recruiting 7 
			 An in depth study over time on the effect of child and parent factors on the perceived quality of life of children treated for a brain tumour Samantha Dickson Research Trust Brain Tumour UK Recruiting 47 
			 Phase I Studies of TARCEVA (erlotinib Hydrochloride, OSI-774) as Single Agent in Children with Refractory and Relapsed Malignant Brain Tumours and in Combination with Irradiation in Newly Diagnosed Brain Stem Glioma CR-UK Recruiting 0 
			 CNS 1992 04 (Infant Brain Tumours) Use of high-field strength MR derived biomarkers in prostate cancer: Potential for improved cancer staging and prognostication CR-UK Closed, in follow-up 213 
			 Study of Paediatric Low Grade Gliomas CR-UK Closed, in follow-up 798 
			 Treatment of children with newly diagnosed diffuse pontine gliomas using conventional radiotherapy and high dose tamoxifen CR-UK Closed, in follow-up 31 
			 SIOP Intracranial Germ Cell TumoursI CR-UK Closed, in follow-up 137 
			 Comparison of Hair regrowth in children with localised PNETs of the posterior fossa (medulloblastoma) treated with surgery followed by radiotherapy or chemotherapy and radiotherapy CR-UK Closed, in follow-up 75 
		
	
	The Department's allocation to the NCRN in 2006-07 is £14.5 million. It is not possible to say what part of this support funding is spent on individual projects.
	Details of a number of other non-NCRN studies supported from the allocations made by the Department to national health service research active organisations can be found on the National Research Register at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/research

Care Homes

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) care homes and  (b) care home beds there were in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the North East and (iv) England in each year since 1997.

Ivan Lewis: Information for the Jarrow constituency is not centrally available.
	Table 1 shows the number of care homes open and places available in England, the North East region, and South Tyneside and Gateshead area for adults aged 18 and over, at 31 March for the years 1997 to 2001. Data for 2002 are not available. Data for 2001 are not comparable to 2003 data.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of care homes( 1)  open and places available for adults aged 18 and over, at 31 March, 1997 to 2001 
			   England  North East region  South Tyneside and Gateshead( 2) 
			   Homes  Places  Homes  Places  Homes  Places 
			 1997 28,800 534,400 1,300 31,700 170 4,100 
			 1998 29,000 553,500 1,400 34,000 190 4,500 
			 1999 28,700 546,200 1,400 33,400 190 4,200 
			 2000 28,300 539,200 1,400 32,800 180 4,200 
			 2001 27,500 528,000 1,400 31,100 190 4,100 
			 (1 )Includes residential homes, nursing homes, mental nursing homes and private hospitals/clinics. (2 )Nursing care relates to Gateshead and South Tyneside Health Authority; residential care relates to Gateshead and South Tyneside councils with social services responsibilities. Data for South Tyneside alone was not collected until 2003, with the establishment of the National Care Standards Commission and later the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) to register and inspect social care providers.  Source: RA and RH(N) returns 
		
	
	Table 2 shows the number of care homes and places registered in England, the North East region and South Tyneside for adults aged 18 and over, at 31 March for the years 2003 to 2007.
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of care homes( 1)  open and places available for adults aged 18 and over, at 31 March, 2003 to 2007 
			   England  North East region  South Tyneside 
			   Homes  Places  Homes  Places  Homes  Places 
			 2003(2) 20,038 434,637 1,017 25,899 53 1,491 
			 2004 19,502 445,732 1,014 26,405 52 1,519 
			 2005 19,033 440,886 1,003 26,658 54 1,669 
			 2006 18,718 441,335 962 25,690 49 1,561 
			 2007 18,577 441,958 951 25,866 47 1,492 
			 (1) Includes care homes with nursing, adult placement, non-medical and personal care. (2) Excludes some local authority homes, which were open but not registered.  Source: CSCI registration and inspection database. Data as at 26 April 2007.

Community Service Volunteers

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who is responsible for delivering funds to community service volunteers' capital volunteering project which her Department has allocated.

Ivan Lewis: The Department was responsible for allocating resource to community services volunteers for the capital volunteering project in line with Treasury approved invest to save bid.

Consanguineous Relationships

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many leaflets aimed at members of the public in consanguineous relationships who intend to have children were produced in the latest year for which figures are available;
	(2)  what information her Department provides to GPs and other medical professionals on how they should advise patients of the risks associated with consanguineous sexual relationships.

Caroline Flint: The Department does not produce leaflets for members of the public on this issue, nor does it collect data on leaflets that may be produced by other sources.
	A leaflet on genetic risk and consanguineous marriage has recently been produced as part to of a collaborative project by the London IDEAS genetic knowledge park and the Genetic Interest Group (GIG, a national alliance of patient organisations) that aims to address the lack of availability of multilingual information on genetic disorders and risk. However this leaflet is for use by specialised genetics services as an adjunct to genetic counselling. It is currently available in English, Urdu, Gujarati, Punjabi and Turkish. It is one of a series dealing with genetic disorders and risk.
	The Department does not provide guidance for general practitioners or other health professional on the issue of the risks associated with consanguineous sexual relationships. In general, guidance on issues of practice is a matter for the appropriate professional or regulatory bodies. In addition, local national health service organisations may decide to issue guidance to help practitioners deal with issues which are of particular relevance to their local population.
	The Human Genetics Commission support the need for proper provision of education and information about marriage within a kin-ship group. This should entail access to counselling and support, preferably in the individual's or couple's preferred language, and a no-blame approach that enables at-risk couples to come forward for testing. Those wanting specific advice on their individual risk should consult a clinical geneticist or genetic counsellor in their local NHS regional genetics centre.
	From later this year the curriculum for trainee general practitioners will include learning objectives to equip them to refer patients at risk of genetic conditions appropriately and to appreciate the importance of considering a patient's cultural and religious background and beliefs concerning inheritance in providing care. These have been developed by the Royal College of General Practitioners in partnership with the NHS National Genetics Education and Development Centre, which is funded by the Department.

Dental Services: Manpower

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) England are not registered with a dentist.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not available in the form requested. Under the new arrangements for national health service dental services, patients do not need to be formally registered with a practice to receive NHS services.
	Information is available on the number of patients who received care or treatment from an NHS dentist in the last 24 months. The most recent information is as at 31 December 2006. The information shows the numbers of patients receiving services in each primary care trust and strategic health authority area and for England as a whole. It could be made available by constituency only at disproportionate cost.
	This information is contained in sheet F2, within annex 3, "NHS Dental Statistics for England Q3: 31 December 2006". This report was published by The Information Centre for health and social care has been placed in the Library.
	The report is also available online at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/webfiles/publications/dental06q3/Quarterly%20Publication%20Q3%202006-7%20Annex%203.xls

Fertility: Stem Cells

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has been  (a) funded and  (b) carried out by her Department on the use of bone marrow stem cells to treat male infertility; when her Department last undertook an evidence review on the issue that drew on (i) UK and (ii) international research; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The United Kingdom Government have maintained a consistent policy of support for stem cell research in this country. While the Department has not funded or carried out any research on the use of bone marrow stem cells to treat male fertility nor has it undertaken any type of review of the issue, we are aware of recently published findings for pre-clinical research on this issue and await to see the results of further trials with interest.

Food: Labelling

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many investigations the Food Standards Agency carried out into falsely labelled food in each year since 2006; and what the cost was of the investigations.

Caroline Flint: Investigations into falsely labelled food are not carried out directly by the Food Standards Agency. The Agency has the overall policy responsibility for food labelling, however the enforcement of the legislation is undertaken by food enforcement officers who are employed by local authorities.

Health Services: Barnet

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by  (a) Barnet Health Authority in 1997-98 and  (b) Barnet Primary Care Trust in 2005-06 on their drugs and pharmaceutical budget; how much is estimated to be spent in 2006-07; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The following table shows the total expenditure on drugs and pharmaceutical services for Barnet Primary Care Trust (PCT). Figures have been provided for 1998-99 (which is the earliest year for which the data exists for the individual organisations) and for 2005-06.
	
		
			  £000 
			   Barnet health authority  Barnet PCT 
			   1998-99  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Drugs or prescribing costs 10,292 47,061 46,057 
			 Pharmaceutical services 791 97 n/a 
			  Notes:  Information for individual national health service bodies is not available prior to 1998-99. The majority of expenditure on pharmaceutical services was accounted for by the Prescription Pricing Authority and not by commissioners. Therefore this cannot be included in the answer.   Sources:  Audited accounts of Barnet Health Authority 1998-99. Audited summarisation schedules of Barnet PCT 2005-06. 
		
	
	The second table shows the Prescription Pricing Division estimate final year spending in primary care prescribing in 2006-07 for Barnet PCT. This covers prescriptions prescribed in England. Prescriptions written in hospitals or clinics that are dispensed in the community, prescriptions dispensed in hospitals and private prescriptions are not included in this figure.
	
		
			   PCT code  PCT name  Total actual cost (£) 
			 2005-06 5A9 Barnet PCT 44,684,957 
			 2006-07 (part year April to January) 5A9 Barnet PCT (1)38,562,545 
			 (1) Part year spend, the Prescription Pricing Division estimate final year spending in primary care prescribing in 2006-07 for 5A9 Barnet is £46,057,219.

Health: Research

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she has taken to implement the recommendations of the Cooksey report on health research funding; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The Department, together with the Department of Trade and Industry, is taking forward the recommendations of the Cooksey review jointly and with other stakeholders. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has invited Professor John Bell to be the interim chair of the new Office for Strategic Coordination of Health Research (OSCHR). The interim oversight group for OSCHR met for the first time in January. In March, OSCHR submitted to the Treasury a single funding bid for health research as part of the 2007 comprehensive spending review.

Human Embryo Experiments: Stem Cells

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what treatments for  (a) children and  (b) adults with disabling conditions have been developed since July 2006 arising from (i) human embryo experimentation, (ii) embryonic stem cell research and (iii) non-embryonic stem cell research; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what progress has been made in curing diseases arising from the results of  (a) adult stem cell research,  (b) embryonic stem cell research and  (c) human embryo experimentation since July 2006; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: As indicated by previous replies to the hon. Member's questions on these topics at the end of in 2005 and 2006, it is too early to talk of treatments for disabling conditions. However, research in these areas has started us on the road to a better understanding of conditions such as motor neuron disease, diabetes and cystic fibrosis that will help us to develop effective treatments, with time. Scientific opinion remains that research in these areas will revolutionise the treatment for such conditions in the 21st century.

Insulin

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she has approved reductions in the range of insulins supplied in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: We are aware that several insulin presentations will be discontinued from the United Kingdom market during 2007. However we do not believe that patient care will be compromised as alternative treatment options remain available. All companies need to keep their product portfolios under close review, and may decide to discontinue a product for a number of reasons. The Department has no powers to insist that a company continues to keep a product on the market if it decides not to. Officials are in regular contact with the companies who supply insulins to the UK market and are continuing to monitor the situation.

Macular Degeneration

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are being treated for macular degeneration in  (a) the United Kingdom,  (b) England,  (c) Greater London,  (d) the London Borough of Havering and  (e) Romford.

Rosie Winterton: The majority of patients receiving treatment for macular degeneration are likely to be treated as out-patients. We do not hold data showing the number of out-patient attendances for this condition.
	The table shows the number of national health service in-patient admissions during 2005-06 for those whose primary diagnosis was degeneration of the macular and posterior pole.
	We do not hold data covering the whole of the United Kingdom, nor do we hold data for Romford which is covered by Havering Primary Care Trust.
	
		
			   Total patients 
			 England 5,232 
			 Greater London 450 
			 Havering (Primary Care Trust) 14 
			  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for Health and Social Care.

Maternity Services: Havering

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many maternity units there are in the London Borough of Havering.

Ivan Lewis: There are two maternity units in the London borough of Havering—both part of Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals national health service Trust—one at Queen's Hospital in Romford and one at King George's Hospital in Ilford.

NHS: Drugs

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many patients self-funded drugs and were required to meet all other costs of treatment in each quarter of the last five years, broken down by primary care trust; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what representations she has received on her Department's policy on the funding of other costs of treatment which would normally be provided by the NHS for patients choosing to fund the cost of a drug privately; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: Information is not collected centrally on the number of patients who self-funded drugs and were required to meet all other costs of treatment.
	The Department has received a number of representations from hon. Members and the public on the question of combining privately funded and national health service-funded treatments.
	We are committed to maintaining the core principle of NHS treatment being provided free at the point of the delivery, based on clinical need not ability pay. This means it is important there is clarity on whether a procedure is publicly or privately funded.

NHS: Finance

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the value was of each grant allocated under the Capital Challenge Fund scheme, broken down by NHS trust.

Ivan Lewis: Under the terms of the Capital Challenge Fund, acute hospital trusts in England were invited to apply for up to £300,000 additional capital finance in 2006-07, to help combat healthcare associated infections. The table showing the allocations from the capital challenge fund and the amounts received has been placed in the Library.
	A small number of trusts did not benefit from the full allocation because of an over-riding pre-existing agreement with the trust covering all capital finance in 2006-07, and in these cases the amount received (column two) was less than the allocation from the capital challenge fund.

Wheelchair Services

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will take steps to ensure that those provided with wheelchair services prior to March 2005 can be issued with replacement wheelchairs to at least the same specification when their criteria remain unchanged and do not meet the revised criteria set out in version 005 of the health care standards for wheelchair services under the NHS published in March 2005; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The needs of those requiring wheelchair services will continue to be assessed individually based upon clinical need and locally determined eligibility criteria. The document 'Health Care Standards for Wheelchair services under the NHS' was not a document published or endorsed by the Department but was produced by the wheelchair managers forum, which includes representation from the British Society of Rehabilitation Medicine, empower, National Forum of Wheelchair user groups, NHS Purchase and Supply Agency, Posture and Mobility group and Whizz-Kidz. The document was issued as guidance and is not mandatory.

Hospitals

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many official visits to NHS hospitals he has made since May 2005; and which hospital was visited in each case.

John Healey: The Chancellor and Treasury Ministers have made a number of visits across the United Kingdom since May 2005, including to NHS hospitals. The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, I can confirm the Chancellor most recently visited Birmingham Heartlands Hospital on 27 April 2007.

Poverty: Children

Jamie Reed: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many children in Copeland he expects to be helped out of living in poverty as a result of the changes announced in the 2007 Budget;
	(2)  what percentage of the additional expenditure on tax credits announced in the 2007 Budget is expected to be claimed by families in Copeland;
	(3)  how many families in Copeland will receive the increase in the child element of the child tax credit announced in the 2007 Budget.

Stephen Timms: HMRC statistics(1) show that, at 3 April 2007, approximately 7,400 children in 4,100 families in Copeland were receiving above the family element of child tax credit and would benefit from increasing the child element by £150 per year above earnings indexation. In addition to this, increasing the child element above earnings indexation will mean that some families in Copeland currently receiving only the family element of child tax credit will also receive some of the child element. It is however, not possible to prevent poverty statistics below the regional level.
	Nationally, as a result of the package of measures announced in Budget 2007:
	households with children will be, on average, £200 a year better off;
	households with children in the bottom fifth of the income distribution will be on average, on average, £350 a year better off; and
	200,000 children will be lifted out of poverty.
	It is not known what percentage of the additional expenditure on tax credits announced in the 2007 Budget is expected to be claimed by families in Copeland, as we do not breakdown expenditure to constituency level.
	(1) http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/ctc-wtc-geog-apr07.pdf

Revenue and Customs: Publicity

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been spent on online website advertising services as part of the Tax doesn't have to be taxing campaign since its launch.

John Healey: Since the launch in 1999, £2,522,459 has been spent on online website advertising services as part of the Tax doesn't have to be taxing campaign.
	The latest tracking research has shown that the proportion of people claiming to have started online filing has continued to increase.
	In 2007, 2.9 million filed online, 35.1 per cent. of total Returns against a target of 35 per cent.

Taxation: Car Sharing

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employees benefited from the tax and national insurance contributions concession on exceptional events in car sharing schemes in 2005-06 and 2006-07; and what the value was of the IR176 relief in those years.

Edward Balls: This information is not available as there is no requirement on employers to report details of exempt benefits to HMRC.

Taxation: Self-Assessment

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was owed in outstanding fines for the late return of self-assessment tax forms at the end of each of the last nine financial years.

John Healey: The information requested is not available for each of the last nine years. The Self Assessment penalties outstanding at the end of HM Revenue and Customs accounting years, and both in monetary amounts in percentage terms against the cumulative penalties raised, are set out in the table. HMRC accounting years run to the end of October.
	
		
			   SA  penalties outstanding  (£ million)  Outstanding as a  p ercentage of charges raised 
			 1998 54.81 47.08 
			 1999 92.37 36.99 
			 2000 112.95 28.37 
			 2001 127.24 23.30 
			 2002 136.26 19.76 
			 2003 131.79 15.68 
			 2004 134.45 13.28 
			 2005 145.52 12.02

Education Maintenance Allowance

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps his Department has taken to tackle fraud on the payment of educational maintenance allowances to older children; how many staff have been involved; how many fraudulent claims were established; how many prosecutions have been made; and how much has been recovered in each of the last five years.

Phil Hope: holding answer 8 May 2007
	After extensive piloting, the education maintenance allowance was rolled out nationally from September 2004. In taking the decision to roll out the scheme, the Department ensured there were robust arrangements in place to minimise the risk of fraud.
	Responsibility for operating the education maintenance allowance, and maintaining and implementing a strategy for managing the risk of fraud, transferred to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) on 1 April 2005. The LSC have provided a response to these questions as follows:
	The EMA national scheme has been operating in its current form since September 2004 and is currently being paid to over 500,000 learners aged 16 to 19.
	All aspects of EMA fraud are proactively managed by a compliance manager, drawing upon support from a number of colleagues and external experts as and when required.
	The following table provides details on the number of fraudulent claims established and the amount of money recovered for the three years of the national scheme.
	
		
			   Number of fraudulent claims established  Amount recovered (£) 
			 200405 0 0 
			 2005-06 15 1,120 
			 2006-07 (to date) 9 540 
		
	
	Due to the relatively small sums involved no prosecutions have been made to date.

Employer Training Pilots

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 16 April 2007 to question 131374, on employer train pilots, how many employees had enrolled in Train-to-Gain programmes by the end of February 2007 in companies where the employer had  (a) fewer than 250,  (b) between 250 and 1,000 and  (c) between 1,000 and 5,000 employees.

Phil Hope: holding answer 23 April 2007
	Train to Gain is an ongoing service and as such performance is updated on a regular basis. Detailed operational information is not held centrally by the Department but is collected by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). Mark Haysom the LSC Chief Executive has written to the hon. Member. and a copy of his reply will has been placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 8 May 2007:
	I am writing in response to your recent parliamentary question about how many employees had enrolled in the Train to Gain programmes by the end of February 2007 in companies where the employer has (a) fewer than 250, (b) between 250 and 1,000 and (c) between 1,000 and 5,000 employees?
	At the end of February 2007, the LSC had this information for 13,362 of the 18,530 employers with learners at that time. The details you requested are shown below for these employers.
	
		
			  Company size  Number of companies  Employees enrolled as learners 
			 (a) below 250 11,184 49,216 
			 (b) 250-1,000 1,196 11,627 
			 (c) 1,000-5,000 982 6,664 
		
	
	I hope this response is helpful to you.

Giles Brook Primary School: Repairs and Maintenance

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much has been spent on Giles Brook Primary School, Milton Keynes in  (a) original building costs,  (b) repairs and making good building defects and  (c) provision of temporary classrooms.

Jim Knight: This information is held locally. Much of the Department's capital resources are allocated to local authorities and schools by needs related formulae, so that priorities for investment can be decided locally and in accordance with locally prepared asset management plans.

Nursery Schools: North East Region

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children in  (a) the North East and  (b) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland are in free nursery education.

Beverley Hughes: The available information is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Number of part-time funded places( 1,2)  filled by three and four year olds, January 2006 
			   3 year olds  4 year olds 
			   M aintained nursery and primary schools( 3)  M aintained and private, voluntary and independent providers( 4)  Total 3 year olds  M aintained nursery and primary schools( 5)  M aintained and private, voluntary and independent providers( 6)  Total 4 year olds 
			 North East Region 19,300 5,300 24,700 24,500 1,700 26,200 
			 Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland Parliamentary Constituency area 890 30 910 990 20 1,000 
			 (1) A place is equal to five or more sessions and can be filled by more than one child. (2) Figures are rounded to the nearest 100 if they exceed 1,000 and to the nearest 10 otherwise. (3) Headcount of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Schools Census. (4) Part-time equivalent number of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Schools Census. (5) Headcount of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Schools' Census. (6) Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Schools Census. 
		
	
	The latest figures on early education places for three and four year olds in England were published in Statistical First Release 32/2006 "Provision for children under five years of age in England—January 2006 (final)" in August, which is available on my Department's website www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/.

Primary Education: Teachers

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to the answer of 28 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1545W, on primary education teachers, whether he has taken steps to encourage schools to employ more men as primary school teachers; how much has been spent advertising jobs in publications likely to reach a predominantly male audience; whether he has encouraged schools to put in place targets for the recruitment of male teachers; whether specific training courses are offered only to male teachers; whether any advice has been given to schools of their right to advertise jobs under Section 47(1a) of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975; and if he will make a statement on the present number of male primary school teachers.

Jim Knight: DfES and TDA are working together to develop a programme of action to increase the number of men working in primary schools.
	The TDA have a range of actions specifically designed to encourage men to train to be primary teachers, in particular, three day TDA funded primary teaching 'taster courses' specifically for men. TDA advertises in national newspapers rather than male-themed publications because those have been more effective in attracting potential high quality teachers. TDA advertise for able, committed and high-quality trainees, regardless of gender.
	Neither TDA nor schools have targets for the recruitment of male trainees or staff. Employers must recruit the best candidate for the job. Training providers are expected to recruit the best quality candidates. The TDA aim is to improve annually on the existing 14 per cent. of male trainees accepted onto primary ITT courses. TDA does not offer teacher training courses specifically to males.
	Schools are free to advertise their vacancies where they wish. No advice has been given to schools on Section 47 (1a) of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975.
	The latest provisional figure available for the number of male teachers in primary schools in 2005 was 26,700.

School Disability Equality Schemes

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many secondary schools have published their disability equality schemes in accordance with the deadline of 4 December 2006.

Parmjit Dhanda: This information is not collected centrally. However to support schools in meeting this new responsibility, in June 2006 the Department for Education and Skills published a training resource for schools and local authorities: 'Implementing the Disability Discrimination Act in schools and early years settings'. The materials in this resource will help schools meet their duties under the Disability Discrimination Acts 1995 and 2005.

School Meals: Standards

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 14 March 2007, Officia l Report, columns 346-47W, on school meals, whether changes were made to the School Meal Review Panel's recommendation on the standard covering deep fried food contained in the Education (Nutritional Standards for School Lunches) Regulations 2006.

Parmjit Dhanda: The School Meals Review Panel recommended that 'meals should not contain more than two deep-fried products in a single week'. To ensure clarity and to maximise the impact of this standard, Ministers decided that the interpretation of 'deep-fried' in this context should include those products that were deep-fried in the manufacturing process.

School Meals: Standards

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much he plans to allocate  (a) to produce the revised guide to standards for school lunches and  (b) to implement its provisions.

Parmjit Dhanda: The School Food Trust has spent just under £54,700 of its grant-in aid on the production of the revised guidance on the standards for school lunches. The costs of school lunches that meet the standards are met through a combination of expenditure by local authorities, schools, parents and carers. However, this Government are investing almost £500 million between 2005 and 2011 in transitional funding to support local authorities and schools in an ambitious six-year programme to transform school food.

Schools: Accommodation

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many temporary school buildings were in use in each London borough in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: Data supplied to the Department by local authorities in 2001, 2003 and 2005 show the following numbers of temporary buildings at maintained schools in each London borough:
	
		
			   2001  2003  2005 
			 Barking and Dagenham 5 9 19 
			 Barnet 72 153 99 
			 Bexley 190 174 44 
			 Brent 84 70 70 
			 Bromley 28 28 24 
			 Croydon 126 116 110 
			 Ealing 20 119 70 
			 Enfield — — 65 
			 Greenwich — — 22 
			 Hackney 29 10 19 
			 Haringey 7 30 7 
			 Harrow 144 146 150 
			 Havering — 2 22 
			 Hillingdon 95 90 9 
			 Hounslow 44 53 98 
			 Islington 2 11 8 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 3 3 3 
			 Kingston upon Thames — — 2 
			 Lambeth 41 41 41 
			 Lewisham 31 32 25 
			 Merton — 4 5 
			 Newham 90 89 72 
			 Redbridge — — 14 
			 Richmond upon Thames — 16 35 
			 Southwark 9 11 11 
			 Sutton 99 104 84 
			 Tower Hamlets 17 12 15 
			 Waltham Forest — 19 19 
			 Wandsworth 22 22 29 
			 Westminster 4 — 2 
		
	
	These data are of thought to be of variable quality and completeness. Data are not held by my Department for other years since 1997.
	Central Government capital support for investment in schools has increased from under £700 million in 1996-97 to £6.4 billion in 2007-08 and will rise further to £8.0 billion by 2010-11. Progress is being made year-by-year in improving the quality of the school building stock. The bulk of schools capital is now allocated by formula to authorities and schools so that they can address their local priorities, including the replacement of decayed temporary accommodation, on which we have set a high priority. Given the high levels of funding, authorities have the opportunity to replace temporary buildings where they are considered to be unsuitable.
	Modern, high quality mobile or demountable buildings provide a good environment for teaching and learning where there is short-term need. They might for instance, be needed to cope with a short term increase in pupil numbers, or where extensive remodelling or rebuilding of permanent accommodation means providing temporary accommodation on the school site, rather than transporting children elsewhere.

Schools: Finance

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what the dedicated schools grant was for Eastbourne in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  what the average funding per school pupil is in  (a) Eastbourne,  (b) East Sussex and  (c) England in 2006-07.

Jim Knight: The Department for Education and Skills allocates revenue funding to local authorities so the requested information is not available for Eastbourne.
	The dedicated schools grant (DSG) was introduced in 2006-07, prior to this authorities' revenue funded was from standard spending assessments (SSA) and education formula spending (EPS) which formed the education part of the local government finance settlement, plus various grants. The per pupil funding for East Sussex local authority and England from 1997-98 to 2005-06 was:
	
		
			  Funding per three-19 year old pupil in real terms (£) 
			   East Sussex  England 
			 1997-98 3,030 3,030 
			 1998-99 3,100 3,090 
			 1999-00 3,220 3,230 
			 2000-01 3,480 3,480 
			 2001-02 3,640 3,650 
			 2002-03 3,740 3,760 
			 2003-04 3,790 3,880 
			 2004-05 3,950 4,020 
			 2005-06 4,130 4,230 
			  Notes: 1. Price Base: Real terms at 2005-06 prices, based on GDP deflators as at 27 September 2006. 2. Figures reflect relevant sub-blocks of standard spending assessment/education formula spending (EFS) settlements and exclude the pensions transfer to EFS and LSC. 3. Total funding also includes all revenue grants in DfES departmental expenditure limits relevant to pupils aged three-19 and exclude education maintenance allowances (EMAs) and grants not allocated at LEA level. 4. The pupil numbers used to convert £ million figures to £ per pupil are those underlying the SSA/EFS settlement calculations plus PLASC three year old maintained pupils and estimated three-four year olds funded through state support in maintained and other educational institutions where these are not included in the SSA pupil numbers. 5. Rounding: Figures are rounded to the nearest £10. 6. Status: Some of the grant allocations have not been finalised. If these do change, the effect on the funding figures is expected to be minimal. 
		
	
	The introduction of the dedicated schools grant (DSG) in 2006-07 fundamentally changed how local authorities are funded. The 1997-98 to 2005-06 figures are based on an assessment of what local authorities needed to fund education; the 2006-07 DSG is based largely on an authority's previous spending.
	In addition, DSG has a different coverage to EFS. EFS comprised a schools block and an LEA block (to cover LEA central functions) whereas DSG only covers the school block. LEA block items are still funded through CLG's local government finance settlement but education items cannot be separately identified. This means we have a break in our time series as the two sets of data are not comparable.
	To provide a comparison for 2006-07 DSG, we have isolated the schools block equivalent funding in 2005-06; as described above this does not represent the totality of 'education' funding in that year. There are other grants that support the schools budget, these are not included in the provided DSG figures. The cash figures for all
	funded pupils aged three-15 in East Sussex and England are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  £ 
			   2005-06 Baseline  2006-07 DSG guaranteed unit of funding  2007-08 DSG guaranteed unit of funding 
			 East Sussex 3,371 3,598 3,831 
			 England 3,41 1 3,643 3,888

Teachers: Occupational Health

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers in  (a) Greater London,  (b) the London Borough of Havering and  (c) Romford had work-related accidents in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: The following table shows the number of reported work related injuries to teachers or teaching professionals in schools in the London Government office region and the London borough of Havering in each year from 1996-97 to 2005-06 which were classed as major or required an absence from work of over three days. This information is not available for Romford constituency.
	A change to the occupations coding framework from 2002/03 means that figures from this year are not directly comparable with earlier years.
	
		
			  Injuries to teachers( 1)  in educational establishments in the London Government office region (GOR) and the London  b orough of Havering 1996-97 to 2005-06( 2)  as reported to all enforcing authorities. 
			   London GOR (inc l uding LB of Havering)  London  b orough of Havering 
			   Major injuries  Over 3 day injuries  Total  Major injuries  Over 3 day injuries  Total 
			 1996-97 49 92 141 0 3 3 
			 1997-98 49 97 146 1 0 1 
			 1998-99 47 108 155 5 7 12 
			 1999-2000 38 116 154 1 7 8 
			 2000-01 49 109 158 1 1 2 
			 2001-02 36 85 121 0 1 1 
			
			 2002-03 40 106 146 3 1 4 
			 2003-04 57 123 180 1 5 6 
			 2004-05 64 117 181 3 4 7 
			 2005-06(2) 64 114 178 3 6 9 
			 (1 )A change to the occupations coding framework used to compile these figures from 2002/03 means that information from that year onward are not directly comparable with the earlier years. Information to 2001-02 includes teachers in primary and secondary education. Information from 2002-03 includes teaching professionals in primary and nursery, secondary, special educational needs and teaching professionals not elsewhere classified. (2 )Provisional.  Source: Health and Safety Executive.

Teachers: Training

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what information his Department has supplied to overseas trained teachers on qualified teacher status.

Jim Knight: holding answer 8 May 2007
	The work permit approval letters issued by Work Permits (UK) to employers provide information on the requirement to obtain QTS within four years in order to be able to continue teaching, and instruct the employers to bring the four year rule to the attention of the overseas trained teacher.
	My Department has sent out several reminders about the fact that overseas trained teachers cannot continue to teach in schools beyond four years unless they have obtained qualified teacher status. These are sent in e-format, to schools, local authorities and also to employment agencies via the Recruitment Employment Confederation as well as information provided on the teachernet website and in 'A Guide to the Law for School Governors'.
	The most recent communication, in September 2006, also mentioned that it was intended that overseas trained teachers, who were on employment based teacher training programmes at the point of their four year anniversary, would cease to be eligible to work as teachers from September 2007.